I do think the fine for Harrion's hits are wrong. I don't like his opinion that knocking a guy out is a good thing.. but that attitude is a result of how the NFL has traditionally liked to promote things.

YOu want to retroactively fine people when you decide to increase punishments, fine. You want to call Harrison's hit illegal, fine. (Note: first hit totally legal and NFL said so, so fine is just for the one hit). You want to send a message, fine.

But there is absolutely no way in hell you can say with a straight face that what he did is worth 75k when Merriwether, after launching himself headfirst into the helmet of an airborne reciever, hitting ONLY helmet to helmet, only gets 50K. No effing way. THAT's the bullshit part of this.

But there is absolutely no way in hell you can say with a straight face that what he did is worth 75k when Merriwether, after launching himself headfirst into the helmet of an airborne reciever, hitting ONLY helmet to helmet, only gets 50K. No effing way. THAT's the bullshit part of this.

Again, Harrison is being fined for saying what every other defensive player in the league is thinking but doesn't have the testicular fortitude to say out loud.

Honestly I don't give a rat's ass if they fine him. As long as they don't suspend him.

Steelers' Harrison takes day off, considers retiringWednesday, October 20, 2010Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-GazetteSteelers coach Mike Tomlin met with linebacker James Harrison today and decided to excuse him for the rest of the work day, a team spokesman said this morning.

Harrison said in some radio interviews that he would rather retire than be hamstrung by the kinds of rules that the NFL charged he violated with a hit Sunday on Cleveland Browns receiver Mohamed Massaquoi. The NFL fined Harrison $75,000 on Tuesday for that hit.

"How can I continue to play this game the way that I've been taught to play this game since I was 10 years old?" Harrison said on Sirius XM Radio this morning. "And now you're telling me that everything that they've taught me from that time on, for the last 20-plus years, is not the way you're supposed to play the game anymore. If that's the case I can't play by those rules. You're handicapping me."

Bill Parise, Harrison's agent, confirmed that the linebacker is contemplating retirement, which is why he met with Tomlin this morning.

"That's exactly true,'' Parise said. "He met with the coach and left for today. He's in the process of contemplating is it possible to play football under these new rules . . . 'if I go to work and tackle somebody and get a fine.'"

Parise said there is "no fighting, no arguing," just discussions. He said Harrison has been talking with his coaches, the Steelers, his mother and the agent.

Harrison signed a six-year, $51.2 million contract in April 2009 that included a reported $20 million in bonuses. If Harrison would retire before the contract expires, the Steelers could demand he pay back some of those bonuses.

A source had told the Post-Gazette that Harrison called the Steelers Tuesay and told them he would not be coming to work today. However, he did report to their facility on the city's South Side to meet with Tomlin.

The Steelers said Tomlin would be available after practice today to discuss the situation.

Wow. This is just amazing. A DPOY is considering retirement? We've gone from being safe and protective to just being candy-ass.

Again, I agree that players should not lead with the crown of the helmet and should never "aim" to hit someone in the head, as this is poor technique. However, how in the hell is a player supposed to keep from EVER hitting another player in the head?

I also didn't understand this quote from the PG:

Harrison was fined not only for unnecessarily striking a defenseless receiver in the head and neck area, which violated two NFL rules for hitting high, but Anderson also cited the rule that a defender must give a player time to protect himself after making a catch before the defender launches into him and hits him high.

"Excuse me, honey, but are you ready for me to hit you? Okay, I'm going to gently wrap my arms around you and pull you to the ground. Oh wait...where did he go? Who is that guy in the end zone pulling the sharpie out of his sock?"

If Harrison retires as a result of this, I'll strip naked; tie 45 pounds of raw, Grade A sirloin to my body; paint my balls red and dip them in barbeque sauce; then, I'll sprint through the Lion exhibit at the Bronx zoo at feeding time. For good measure, I'll have the face of a deer painted on my ass just before I hop the fence...

If Harrison retires as a result of this, I'll strip naked; tie 45 pounds of raw, Grade A sirloin to my body; paint my balls red and dip them in barbeque sauce; then, I'll sprint through the Lion exhibit at the Bronx zoo at feeding time. For good measure, I'll have the face of a deer painted on my ass just before I hop the fence...

OK, I'll revise my thought on this.

I hope Harrison DOES retire now.

And then un-retires a week later.

Nothing personal, AJ. Just let us know when you're running so we can get this shit on YouTube.